Matsui Calls for Increased Transparency and Privacy Protections for Consumers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 24, 2010

CONTACT: MARA LEE
(202) 225-7163

Today, Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (D-CA) participated in the Communications, Technology and the Internet and Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee joint hearing, The Collection and Use of Location Information for Commercial Purposes. As a member of both subcommittees, Representative Matsui has been vocal in calling for increased transparency and privacy safeguards for consumers. Matsui's opening statement, as prepared for delivery, is below:

Today, millions of Americans rely on different location-based services and applications for a variety of activities, including social networking, and navigation and mapping services, among many others. As both broadband expansion and the use of mobile devices continue to grow among consumers, the industry that provides location-based services and applications will only increase. In fact, according to one estimate, the use of these services and applications are expected to reach more than 80 million new users in North America alone over the next three years.

As we all know, in today's economy, information is everything - to everyone. And as we know, mobile devices are everything to millions of consumers: storing, in many cases, very personal information - or even providing their physical location.

With ever-changing technologies and applications emerging, it is essential that we properly protect the private and personal information of consumers. Simply put: privacy policies and disclosures should be clear and transparent. We should also understand the scope of information that is being collected, what it is being used for, the length of time it is retained, and its security.

The more information consumers have - the better. Ultimately, meaningful privacy safeguards should be in place, while ensuring that we don t stifle innovation.